Mr. Vegas

Kanye isn’t the only one to parlay having his jaw wired shut into a successful music career. The story goes that Mr. Vegas took a pipe to the jowl during a scuffle over master tapes and his 1998 post-recovery song “Nike Air” — his take on the “Playground” riddim popularized by Beenie Man’s “Who Am I (Sim Simma)” — put the reggae/dance hall singjay on the map. His “Heads High” hit was interpolated by a backpack-era Black Eyed Peas and others, furthering establishing the Jamaican artist. The real-life Clifford Smith lent some Kingston credibility to last year’s Snoop Lion album; his own “Reggae Euphoria” LP is due this month. Michael Rietmulder